Alyssa and I woke up at 4:15 AM on the morning of the 12th to make our way to the train station to catch the 5:55 AM train from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet near the Thailand/Cambodia border. Upon our arrival on the train, we were greeted by a very nice Thai man who spoke enough English to communicate with us for a while. He proceeded to ask every foreigner who came onto the train where they were from...if they were also from the US, he would look at us, point at them, and say "same same." One of these "foreigners" was a girl from North Carolina named Ilsa who was doing a bit of traveling between jobs. We ended up traveling together for the next 3 days. The train ride to the border was a little over 6 hours and we slept most of the way. Once we got off the train, we hopped on a tuk tuk and made our way to the border market to go through Thai immigration, buy our Cambodian visas, and go through Cambodian immigration. It was quite a process, but after avoiding several visa scams and waiting in an incredibly slow Cambodian immigration line, we had finally made it to the town of Poipet in The Kingdom of Cambodia.
*A quick tip for anyone thinking about using this border crossing to get into Cambodia from Thailand...if you haven't crossed under the arch that says "The Kingdom of Cambodia" don't buy your visa yet...it's most likely a scam. There is a building just beyond and to the right of the arch as you pass under it...that's the place to go. It should be $20 USD. There will be official looking people in official looking buildings trying to get you to buy your official looking visas before the arch...don't do it...you've been warned :)
Once in Poipet we had to get on yet another bus to take us to the transport depot where we could buy a ticket for a 2 hour mini bus ride to Siem Reap for $10. They will tell you you'll get a free tuk tuk ride to your hostel when you get there...it's not true...but tuk tuks are cheap and it' really wasn't a huge problem. I was just annoyed when I asked the driver why it's not free when they said it would be, then he pretended to not speak or understand English.
Of all of the places we visited on our vacation, Siem Reap was my favorite for several reasons.
First, our hostel was amazing. It was directly across the street from a night market and a 2 minute walk from "pub street." The staff was friendly and helpful, the rooms were clean and cheap, and the overall atmosphere was excellent. There was good cheap food available at the hostel, and we could buy $2 pitchers from 6PM-9PM...$2 pitchers!!! The staff really made this place special though. Particularly the guy who calls himself "Happy George" and another guy "Shree" who taught Alyssa a traditional Cambodian dance. Happy George was our guide for a local food tour we took on our first night. He brought us to what seemed like a "locals only" food market where we tried several different Khmer foods. We tried stuffed frogs (tasted like chicken sausage), we tried crickets (again), we tried something called Khmer Cheese (frightening). Khmer cheese is fish that they let spoil in the sun for a day (stinky), then they add a ton of salt and various spices to help preserve the fish and kill the harmful bacteria. It was funky to say the least, but I'm glad we tried it. We also tried fertilized and partially developed chicken eggs (also frightening).
Another reason I liked Siem Reap the best was because of the people. Tourism is a huge industry in Cambodia. Many people rely on tourists throughout the year to put food on their tables. Touting is going to happen, you can't let it bother you. Once I got past that and started talking to some of the people, I couldn't help but notice how kind everyone was and how eager they were to share their culture with us. I saw some of the most genuine smiles in the world on the faces of people who led lives most people would consider very difficult. These people enjoy life, community, family, and friends, and they really care about other people, whether or not they actually know the person. It was a beautiful thing to see.
Another one of the many reasons I enjoyed Siem Reap so much was the scenery. We got up at 4 AM to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was so peaceful and beautiful to watch the sky light up over the reflecting pond in front of the ancient ruins. Crowds formed pretty quickly so it was almost impossible to get any pictures without people in them, but we managed to get a couple. I also never realized that much of Cambodia is covered in flat rice paddies. I always envisioned the country being primarily jungle, but it was mostly flat, green rice fields.
On our third day in Siem Reap, we visited a floating village on the Tonle Sap lake. Our guides were so awesome and I spent most of the day drinking beers with them on the front of our boat.
After our adventures in Siem Reap, we took a 6 hour bus ride to Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh. We were only here for 2 full days, so we made the most of our time by going to see the Tol Sleng Torture prison (a high school that was converted into one of the most brutal torture prisons in the country during the Pol Pot regime in the late 1970s) and the Killing Fields. Both were very eye opening, heavy experiences. It's crazy to me how recently the genocides happened. More than 25% of Cambodia's population was completely wiped out in a period of roughly 5 years. The brutality was unbelievable.
After 3 weeks of pretty intense traveling, and after running out of clean laundry, we were ready to get back to Daegu. We flew back on Sunday, and had to be at work the next day :(. It's always so weird going from backpacking to a normal work schedule within a day. Ugh.
Overall, our vacation was wonderful. We got to spend time with some of our good friends from home, we got to see a new part of the world, and we got to make some amazing memories.
*Pictures from Cambodia will be posted soon.
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